Waiting In the Wings
by LoudAutomata16
Summary: After the events of "Destinies Collide", everyone finds themselves mysteriously sent back to the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow. Now Cassandra and Rapunzel go through trials and tribulations as they search for each other. (Rating may or may not change)
1. Prologue

**Hey, all. This is my first time writing a fanfiction about Tangled, a show I've found has grown on me. I always wanted to write for it, but when I sat down and brainstormed… I couldn't think of anything. I had a bunch of vague, half-baked ideas, but nothing to really build a narrative on. But then I figured… if I set this in The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow… and I tweaked a few things about the latter part of Season 2...**

**What you're about to read is the result of my brainstorm. It may seem a bit out-there, but give it a chance, and you might like it.**

**Naturally, a spoiler warning. Tread with caution if you haven't seen the end... unless you don't care about spoilers, in which case welcome abroad :D**

* * *

The tips of Rapunzel's golden hair touched the rocky ceiling above her. She could feel the glowing strands scraping along as she walked closer and closer to the Moonstone Opal. Cassandra and Eugene stood behind her, watching as she marched to the beat of the gem's metaphorical drum. Suspended in mid-air, it shimmered with an otherworldly blue color that reminded Rapunzel again that this wasn't just any mystical stone. It wasn't a magical sapphire or a pearl enchanted by magics before her time; it was her destiny.

Her fingers, tentative and trembling, reached out to touch it. She drew a slow breath as her fingertips felt the temperate energy radiating off it. She was scared of what would happen if she touched it, how world-changing it would be if the Sun within her finally melded with its pale aura… but with her friends behind her, she knew she didn't have to be afraid.

They were with her. They were on her side.

_Here goes, _she thought, reaching out to it like a child reaches for her mother…

Only to watch, eyes wide with shock, as a gloved hand swooped in and grabbed it. The moonlit aura of the opal gem still burned vividly within Cassandra's hand as she pulled it back towards her expressionless face.

"Cassandra?" Rapunzel said her friend's name with a dreadful lilt of surprise. Her long hair fell to the ground and lost its glimmer as she asked, "What are you doing?"

The raven-haired bodyguard glared at her, her eyes as thin as slits. Something was wrong, and Rapunzel could feel it. She stepped back from her friend, and Eugene, sensing the same, grabbed his girlfriend's hand and pulled her back as Cassandra bared her teeth and squeezed the Moonstone Opal tightly.

"I'm fulfilling… _my destiny_!" came her tight-lipped answer.

There was a cracking sound in her hand, at such a pitch that only the bats of the cave could hear it. But the sound that followed was deafening: an explosion of pallid light shot from Cassandra's hand, drawing a shocked cry from her and knocking Rapunzel, Eugene, and Pascal to the wall of the cave. As she flew through the air like a tossed doll, Rapunzel's long locks of hair covered her eyes, so she was in darkness as the back of her head slammed into the stones. She cried out in pain as she hit the ground, then scrabbled to watch as Cassandra held her glowing hand towards the ceiling.

She screamed as she slammed the opal into her chest.

Black rocks burst from the ground around them and traveled to Cassandra like dutiful soldiers.

Another flash of blinding light, and Cassandra reappeared, reborn into something… darker. Her guards' clothes, which she had worked for her entire life, melted away in favor of a cyan hood and cape. Her suit of armor was replaced by a suit of raven feathers. Her hair, previously as dark as the wood of an oak tree, now resembled a blue fire.

There was a low, humorless laugh.

"I tried to warn you, Rapunzel..."

Cassandra looked at the princess, her eyes alit with righteous anger and her features marred by a hateful frown.

"… you have to be careful with who you trust."

Rapunzel's breath were ragged and scared. She panted in fear, her bosom rising and falling. Eugene's arms wrapped around her protectively, but neither of them felt safe as the magically-powered Cassandra stepped towards them menacingly.

_This… this can't be happening, _thought Rapunzel. _This has to be just a bad dream…_

Suddenly... Cassandra stopped in her tracks.

Her hand flew to her chest and clutched it, and the young woman's entire body twisted as she let out a pained scream. Her skin began to glow, starting tepid but quickly brightening until it hurt Rapunzel's eyes to see. A banshee-like howl of pain erupted from Cassandra's throat as she threw her head back and exploded into a pillar of light.

"CASS!"

That was the last thing Rapunzel remembered before the light overtook her, and everything went black.

* * *

_My eyes… they hurt…_

Her eyes clenched. She reached up to touch them, to wipe the gunk away, and found them wet and dirty. Her fingers brushed the eyewax out, and untangled some of her long eyelashes that had fused together. A pair of emerald green eyes opened, and Rapunzel lifted her head off the ground.

"Ooh… my head..."

She tapped her temple, and when she felt no blood, she stopped to observe her surroundings. "Wh-Where am I?"

One thing was for sure: she wasn't in the cave anymore. The jagged black rocks and their pointed sharp tips were all gone… as were Eugene, Pascal and Cassandra. Her head titled from side to side, trying to pinpoint a familiar sign. The floor underneath her was smooth and reflective, so she quickly deduced that she was in someone's home. It wasn't like any home she had ever seen though… the interior was all red, and the design didn't boast wooden boards and windows but instead spiraling shapes… almost like a seashell…

Rapunzel gasped. "I-I know this place," she said.

"Indeed you do," said a voice behind her with the thick accent of a Frenchman.

Rapunzel screamed and jumped to her feet, spinning around so fast that her long blonde hair smacked her face. She brushed it to the side with her hand, and her eyes met the gaze of a familiar smirking man with snowy hair and thick, blood-crimson coat.

"Matthews," she snarled.

He checked his nails, lifting the side of his mouth snootily. "Or Tromus," he said, with the air of a man without a single care in the world. "Tromus also works for me."

Rapunzel's emotions were already in flux from what happened with Cassandra (_that had to have been a dream, right? I mean, I just woke up, so maybe it was a dream and Cass didn't betray me!_) but now her emotions flashed her messages of fear, confusion, anger, and alertness. It wasn't that long ago that Matthews (or Tromus, as he insisted like an ass) tried to sacrifice her to his dark master Zhan Tiri. She reached to her back for her trusty frying pan… only to grasp at nothing.

"Whoops… I guess I dropped it."

The man rolled his eyes. "I took your frying pan," he told her, "and hung it in the kitchen where it belongs. I shall use it to make an omelet tomorrow, and I shall think of you as I dirty it with yolk."

"You monster! That frying pan is sacred. A-At least clean it when you're done!"

Again, he rolled his eyes. "Are you done acting the fool?" he asked. "Don't you have more important things to worry about than your battered pan? 'Where are my friends, oh handsome Tromus?' Or maybe something like 'I thought we destroyed you and the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow.'"

"Um… yeah. I want to you to talk about those. And my frying pan." Rapunzel crossed her arms, stubbornly insisting on the point.

"You see, little Sundrop," he started, "I'm afraid you and your friends never escaped my lovely little home." He chuckled evilly at the confused look on the princess' face, and continued, his voice as silky as a spider's threads, "I see you're confounded, so allow me to explain: I put you and your silly friends in a trance that caused you to hallucinate everything. Zhan Tiri… the House vanishing… your adventures into the Dark Kingdom… all illusions crafted by me."

"What? H-How?"

She didn't need him to answer that. She knew how. She had known many witches and magic-practitioners in her life, but never before had she encountered something as arcane and powerful as the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow. If it could birth shadowy doppelgangers of her and her friends, and regress the ages of Cass, Shorty and Lance into babies and toddlers, it wouldn't be impossible to imagine it creating a dream world for them. Technically speaking, it had done so before, but then that itself would be a dream world... in a dream world?

"Someone should make a moving picture about that," Rapunzel said to herself. She then shook her head, her hair moving like a snake as she did. "Wait a minute… if Zhan Tiri was an illusion, then does that mean that you don't really serve him?"

He shook his head. "I serve this House. And believe me, Sundrop, the House is more powerful than Zhan Tiri or anything else in this world."

"My name is Rapunzel." Her tone was stern.

The man's eyes flashed with rage at her impudence. "As far as I'm concerned, _Sundrop_," he said in a voice colder than the northern tundras, "you're only than the carrier of the Sundrop. You are, to me, nothing but a walking magical flower that sprouted breasts."

Rapunzel's face flushed red with both embarrassment and anger. She was usually a kind and smiling girl, but this man, this house, brought out her darkest side. "Now, you liste-"

"Before you engage in a long and tiresome rant I won't be listening to," he interrupted, "wouldn't you like to see your friends again?"

She stopped, and her smile returned to her almost as quickly as it had faded. She clapped her hands excitedly, hopping on her bare feet. "Alright, you win. Take me to Eugene and the others. And Cass. I need to apologize to her for having such a terrible dream about her. I can't imagine I made her the bad guy in my dream world."

She didn't notice the dark shadow of amusement that passed over his face as she said that.

He clutched the doorknob of a large orange door – the shape of the handle reminded Rapunzel of a crab's pincers – and he respectfully waved his hand in front of the door, bowing his head like a butler rather than the dark villain he really was. Rapunzel stepped out of the room and into the familiar hallway. She turned her head and saw a large mirror. She took a step back, remembering the last time she dealt with a mirror in this place. Could it be…?

She looked at her reflection. Instead of the smile she was wearing, her reflection's mouth was scowling. "Yeah, it is the same," she said. She then tapped the mirror, and said, "I hope you're doing alright in there, evil-me."

"_Kiss my ass."_

"Ohoho, been a long time since I heard one of those words," said the princess. She waggled her finger at her reflection like it was a naughty child. "Remember, every time you say a bad word, an angel loses its wings."

Now would be a good time to remind the reader that Rapunzel had a very sheltered upbringing with mother Gothel, who, despite her many faults, hated profanity. And it's not like her servants at the castle would be swearing in front of her. When they stubbed their toes in private, they would gladly unleash waves of blasphemy and vulgarity. When they stubbed their toes in front of Rapunzel, they would murmur a meek "Bless me" lest the King have them hung for dirtying his daughter's ears.

"The second room to your left, Sundrop," muttered Matthews when he joined her in the hall. Rapunzel nodded and went to the room he indicated for her. When she opened it, her eyes and smile widened and she squealed "EUGENE!"

The brown-haired young man, upon hearing his name, turned his head, and smiled brightly as Rapunzel launched herself at him and drew him into a warm hug. They fell to the floor together, and the two of them laughed and hugged until Eugene let out a short choke. "_B-Blondie… you're choking me..." _he wheezed.

"Sorry," she giggled. She helped him to his feet, and without a moment of pause, Pascal appeared over the young man's shoulder and leaped to the princess with an excited chirp. "Pascal!" Rapunzel held the reptile in the palm of her hand and rubbed her freckled cheek on his face. The two smiled, embracing each other's presence, and he even lashed out his tongue to lick Rapunzel's face, earning a soft giggle from her.

"Rapunzel!" A boisterous voice cried her name. It was none other than Lance, walked to her with his convincingly charming smile. In the large man's arms, underneath his armpits, was Shorty, who waved his hand lazily. "Hello, Cinderella," he said. Rapunzel smiled, and returned their greetings.

She looked back to Eugene, who promptly assured her that "The horses are outside. I just checked. We're not even locked up in here this time! We can just walk out and leave whenever we want."

"That's amazing! Let's just grab Cassandra and… wait, where's Cass?"

The young woman's head flicked side to side, her eyes scanning the room for any trace of her snarky best friend. She blinked in fear a few times, then looked back to her lover. "Eugene, where is she?" she asked him.

"B-Blondie… you do remember what happened, right? With the Moonstone?"

"No, no, silly Eugene. That was just a dream. We were all in a dream world, and I guess I just had a dumb nightmare." She shook her head and laughed, though her laugh was too pitched and fake to even fool herself. "S-Seriously, where is she?"

"Oh, dear me, Sundrop… it appears I didn't tell you about Moonstone," murmured Matthews as he materialized in the room like a ghost from thin air. Lance screamed and threw up his arms in self-defense, dropping Shorty to the ground. The old warlock seemed to have no interest in either of them, though, as his eyes narrowed in on Rapunzel. Eugene drew her close, protectively, and Pascal hissed gutturally. That seemed to assume Matthews. His pale lips curled into a thin smile.

"M-Moonstone?"

Rapunzel sounded like a little girl that had just been told there was no Santa.

Matthews nodded. "I should've been clearer in my explanation, I apologize. You see… while you were in the dream world I created, I allowed you to pass through and project your spirits into the Dark Kingdom. It's a very complicated process, I shan't bore you with the details, but the truth is that you and her and your boyfriend did indeed make it to the Moonstone..."

Rapunzel felt her heart start pounding.

"...and she did snatch it away from you and fuse with it..."

Her breathing became labored, tainted with fear.

"...and she's now your enemy… for she did betray you..."

His grin was now shark-like.

"… and the best part, Sundrop? She's in my House right now… but she isn't your friend anymore. She's the vessel of the dark powers of the Moonstone Opal. Which means, Sundrop, that when you two meet again, it won't be Rapunzel and her lady-in-waiting Cassandra. It will be the power of the Sun against the power of the Moon… you two are enemies!"

Matthews was a formal man. He liked to seem regal and respectable, so nothing would ever terrify Rapunzel as much as watching him throw back his head in a long fit of hyena-like laughter that shook his entire body like a madman. He was laughing at her – her friend Cassandra was gone now, and all that remained of her was the Moonstone Opal… her enemy.

Two images of Cassandra flashed before her eyes. In one, the dark-haired girl put her hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly. And in the other, the blue-haired girl stared at her with eyes of pure hatred.

_C-Cass… why?_

As Matthews' manic laughter echoed off the seashell walls, Rapunzel fell to the ground and began to cry.

* * *

Moonlight shone on the steel bars above her head. The moonlight did not stream through a window or a hole, for there were no holes or windows above her head. Above, there was nothing but pitch-black darkness. The silvery light did not originate from outside the cell. It did not, even, originate from the moon. The glow that bathed the small cell with a grayish blue shine was entirely from Cassandra herself.

When she had awoken, she checked her environment like she had been trained to do as a member of the guard. Though she felt no more allegiance to the guard – to the entirety of Corona – she kept their teaching close to heart. Cassandra, guided by the dim light that illuminated her hair, found that she was in a small cell somewhere underground. There were no doors. There was only the lines of metal above her, shimmering as if they had just been cleaned.

Was she in prison? Did she pass out? Was she unconscious for so long that Raps dragged her to Corona and had her jailed?

Cassandra grit her teeth angrily. _It wouldn't be the first time she stole my destiny from me._

But the more she thought about it, the less it made sense. Mostly because if she was in a hole in the ground somewhere under Corona, Eugene would be standing above her, throwing peanuts and laughing at her.

_There must be a third party, _she thought. _A third party that's dragged me down here. But who?_

"_Who."_

Cassandra looked up as she heard the familiar hooting of an owl. "Owl," she said. As if summoned, her pet-owl Owl appeared above her, his hooks clasping the bars. The bird peered down at her, and Cassandra, in spite of herself, offered him a small smile. She reached up towards her companion, beckoning for him to stand on her arm.

Her smile faltered when he didn't.

Instead, Owl stared at her with bright yellow eyes, full of judgment. Animals couldn't talk (well, sometimes they could, as Cassandra knew from personal experience) but a pet and pet owner develop a bond that crosses that pesky little problem known as cross-species communication. Owl couldn't talk, but if he could, she knew he would be asking her why she did it.

_Why did you betray her?_

"Don't look at me like that," she snarled. Her cheeks pinkened, and she turned away with a flick of her hair. She turned too quickly, and ended up stubbing her toe into the wall.

"Goddamit… fuck!"

Her fists beat into the wall, and she huffed some angry breaths. She knew that her bird was still up there, watching over her like a faultfinding deity, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that she had lost her chance… again! This was supposed to be her moment, her destiny. No longer would it be Cassandra-the-ignored or Cassandra-the-servant-girl-that-we-gave-a-sword-to-so-she-feels-less-pitiful. She would be Cassandra of the Moonstone Opal; a higher being that the Corona and the rest of the world would recognize.

But she failed, and she lost it all. Everything she had worked for… gone!

Her head slammed into the wall. She felt like she was on the verge of a tantrum. Oh, who cared if she was? No one was around except that dumb bird? No one cared for her when she was around, why would they care when she's alone?!

"Now, now," said a silky, accented voice. "Let's not destroy the walls because we're feeling sorry for ourselves."

Cassandra gasped and looked up, recognizing the tone. Owl was gone, and in his place, a white-haired man hunched over and watched her through the beams.

"Tromus," she snarled.

He checked his nails, lifting the side of his mouth snootily. "Or Matthews," he said, with the air of a man without a single care in the world. "Matthews also works for me."

"How are you… is this the House of Tomorrow's Yesterdays?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why do people always make that mistake? It's _Yesterday's Tomorrow_."

"It's supposed to have been destroyed. Vanished. Gone. _Poof_."

"And yet here it is. Funny how life works. Quiet down, now, and I'll let you out of your cage."

"_You_ don't let _me_ out of anywhere," she growled. She touched the ground, and out sprouted a large, sharp black rock. It rose to skewer Matthews like a shish-kebab, but the man simply yawned and snapped his fingers. The rock stopped growing, started shaking, and sunk back into the ground.

"What the- AAAAGH!"

Cassandra fell over in pain, clutching her head and raking her hands through her body. It felt like a thousand fiery whips lashing at her. "Make it stop!" she screamed.

"I'm not doing anything," the man insisted. "You're doing it to yourself. Your friend Sundrop had years to live with her powers of good. Your powers are of decay, and you've only had them for a few hours. To put it into terms you'd understand, imagine if a rookie Royal Guardsman decided to climb a mountain in a full suit of armor. I'd imagine they'd feel burning as well."

She barely heard a thing he said. She simply writhed on the ground until she felt the torture no more. She gasped and wheezed for tastes of air, and Matthews shrugged his bony shoulders. "Allow me to explain why you're here, and I'll let you free. Does that sound like a good deal?"

She didn't answer, so he took it as a yes.

Matthews told her much the same as he told Rapunzel. He told her about the dream world, about the power of the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow, about how she still betrayed her friend and absorbed the Moonstone. Something crept into Cassandra's heart when he mentioned that last one – something that oddly resembled… _guilt._

Cassandra tried to push it out of mind, but the heartbreak and _fear _in Rapunzel's eyes – the woman she was supposed to protect, the woman she was supposed to be a friend to – made her shiver more than the coldness of her keeping cell ever could.

"Alright," she muttered, "I listened to you talk. Now let me out."

"Of course, Mademoiselle."

She hated being called that, and he knew it.

His withered fingers wrapped around the beams and he pulled them up. She heard shuffling for a few moments as he disappeared, then watched as a stringy rope fell to her. She climbed up, and when she saw Matthews waiting for her with his hand open to help pull her up, she refused to let him. She climbed out of her solitary confinement, and she breathed the new, open air. True to the seashell architecture, even the air was laced with hints of beachy saltwater.

She saw Owl standing on the frame of a painting that depicted some kind of ancient sea creature, still glaring at her.

"Come here, Owl."

She beckoned to him to come to her again, with more force in her voice, so he did, spreading his brown wings and flying to perch on her shoulder with the utmost reluctance. Cassandra sighed, with a mix of annoyance and guilt. She did feel somewhat bad now as she realized how she technically hadn't even given her bird a name…

But then again, that wasn't where most of her guilt was coming from.

"I'd also like to inform you, Cassandra, that your friend with the golden hair is in the building right now," Matthews piped up. "In fact, her and her friends are searching for you at this very moment. I can imagine that they don't plan to give you a group hug when they find you."

"I… I..."

"Don't worry, Cassandra. You have the power of the Moonstone Opal. You can surely protect yourself using that… as well as the many marvels of my House."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him. "Why are you telling me this? Why did you bring us here after I got the Moonstone?"

For a moment, there was silence.

Then the old man grinned, revealing rows of his sharpened teeth.

"Because… I knew the day would come when the drop of Sun and the stone of Moon would come into conflict..."

What the man said next sent shivers down Cassandra's spine.

"_...and I always wanted to have a front row seat..._"


	2. Little Raps Riding Hood

**fanfictionmakermachine: Well...it's a bit complicated. I'm not going to pretend that what she did was justified, but I do plan to dive into her personality and backstory and excuses may surface naturally. She may be the villain, but she's still my favorite character and I wanna try to show her in a good light haha. Either way, I'm glad you're enjoying :)**

* * *

Cassandra ignored the scathing glare in Owl's eyes as she trudged on. With Matthews thankfully gone, she finally had some time to think. The thoughts that trickled through her mind ranged, but they always returned to one thing: the Moonstone.

It would've been impossible to climb the staircase that she was currently ascending without the light blue glow of her hair to guide her as she placed each of her feet forward on the stones (or what she thought were stones. They were red and organic, so they could've possibly been the remains of hermit crabs' shells). Her rogue lips pursed as she dwelled on how little she knew about the powers of the Moonstone Opal…

How little she knew about her own powers.

_I can summon more black rocks, _she thought, _and I can create death and decay._

She shivered as she thought about the spells of decay. She remembered vividly how Rapunzel was put into a chanting trance that turned her hair, yellow as fields of wheat, to a murky black, and darkened her eyes until all traces of life were gone from them. Something deep down told her that she would be able to perfect the Decaying Incantation, but then Raps ever could… and she wondered if she could do so right now…

_Do I even know the words?_

The answer was yes. She knew them like a newborn spider knew to web-spinning.

_Wither and decay_

_End this destiny_

_Break these earthly chains_

_And set the spirit free._

She wet her lips, preparing to say the words aloud, but Owl's frightful hoot gave her pause.

"You're right," she said to the bird. "I can't say them yet. This incantation is... is my destiny. I can feel it deep in my bones. And when I embrace my destiny and do what needs to be done... I want _her_ to be there to see it."

Her face darkened as she thought about Rapunzel. Rapunzel, the girl blessed with the power of healing. Wasn't that just typical? Good little Rapunzel, the sweet little daddy's girl that everyone loved, running around all sunshine and rainbows and life and happiness, while bitter evil Cassandra becomes death and darkness. It was just typical. No one had ever wanted her. Her dad had always kept her on the sidelines and away from the action she craved, her friends ignored her expertise and advice and instead followed the words of Raps and Adira and whoever else like obedient little lapdogs… the only person who ever considered her something more was Varian, and he turned out to be an evil little prick.

Figures… two birds of the same feather, right?

No one had ever wanted her. They kept her waiting in the wings because they thought they could do better… just tossing her aside like she was nothing to them.

Her teeth grit aggressively. "We'll see them throw me aside when I build a tower of black rocks to stand over them like a goddess."

Owl hooted into her ear. Perhaps it was her imagination – or conscience – but Cassandra heard her former best friend's name in the noise.

Rapunzel… she never meant any harm. Cassandra knew that, but could only swell upon that in her less angry moments. The princess was many things that she didn't like: she was energetic, jokey, way too happy and smiley (_ugh_), and didn't know her limits. But she was also the sweetest person Cassandra had ever know. She was kind and brave and gentle and could let her grudges go (excluding one instance with a rather spiteful baker). She wasn't evil in any way. So why did Cassandra feel such a tightness in her chest when she thought about her?

"Because she's not the one who's evil. I-I'm the one who's evil," Cassandra murmured, answering her own question. "And evil… evil always hates good."

Suddenly the glow atop her head began to flicker. Cassandra hissed, "What? Why now?" as the blue light slowly faded and her natural hair color returned. The young woman began sprinting up the stairs, using the failing light to keep her from tripping. She dashed blindly forwards, so fast that Owl cried out and hopped off her shoulder, flying just above her head.

She was thankful to finally see the door at the top of the spiraling staircase. Her hand gripped the handle of the door and swung it open. Yellow dots of light flew around before her very eyes while her nose was hit by the fresh scent of pines and cedars. Cassandra blinked a few times, looking at the world behind the door.

She had expected to find another crustacean room.

She had not expected to find a completely open forest.

* * *

A gasp shot out of Rapunzel's mouth as she awoke for the second time that day. She shot up in bed, clutching herself. She didn't remember falling asleep, but the sleep itself didn't help her much. She was still weary and tired, but more importantly, she still felt as strongly as she did just before she collapsed.

The sting of Cassandra's betrayal wasn't going to go away.

"Hey, hey, easy there Blondie." A hand gently rubbed her back, and the soothing voice of her boyfriend filled her ears. She looked up and saw Eugene standing over her, a caring smile drawn on his face. If there was any worry or fear within him, he hid it well. Those were the perks of living in the shadows as a criminal for so long; you can hide your feelings a little better than other people.

The young man sat down on the edge of the mattress, and grabbed the princess' hands. Rapunzel, heaving a sigh, relaxed as the heat of his hands flowed through her body, warming her like a cup of cocoa on a cold winter night. She smiled at him. "Good morning," she said softly.

"It's almost sunset."

She giggled. "So it's dinnertime? Is this bed where you wanted me for a romantic dinner? You naughty dog, Eugene~"

His cheeks tinged with blush, but he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "It is dinnertime, actually. But don't get up. I know you're a little… overwhelmed… with everything, so I sent the others to make you a little something called hazelnut soup. I think that's your favorite."

"You thought right."

"I know. I'm always right." He ran his hand through his hair and flashed a cocky grin. His grin fell, however, when he noticed the clouds of doubt in Rapunzel's normally-shining eyes. He exhaled deeply through his nose and whispered, "You're still hurt by Cassandra, right?"

"Yes." Rapunzel didn't have the will to lie to him.

"I, well… listen, you know me and her never got along too well," he said uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. "I always thought she was a bit of a bitch, pardon my French. But she was still my friend, and I never thought that she would do something like that. I was just as shocked as you were. Yeah, there was a prophecy and all that mystical mumbo jumbo, but I didn't think… my point is, Blondie, that I wish it didn't happen. I really do. But it did and we know that she's here with us, somewhere, and we need to-"

"To do what, Eugene?" Rapunzel snapped suddenly. "To take her out before she takes us out? To k-kill her before she kills us? Cass would never do that to us."

"You don't know what she's capable of, or what she's willing to do. She's already betrayed you, and now she has all that black magic with her."

"Yes, but… but..."

"Blondie… it's just like Varian."

"_No_," she said. Her voice was forceful. "Cass is nothing like Varian. Varian wanted to get revenge on everyone and tear down Corona. Cass is a protector of Corona, and she is my best friend."

"_Was_," Eugene corrected, his voice slightly colder than he intended. "She _was _a protector of Corona. She _was _your best friend."

Rapunzel's brows furrowed, and her frown deepened. For a moment, Eugene felt nervous and lifted his hands weakly to hold back the storm that was brewing in Rapunzel's mind. She opened her mouth as if she were ready to scream at him… but then stopped herself. All the angry energy deflated from her like a balloon, and she slumped back against the bed-frame, planting the cushioned back of her head in the pillow.

"I wish that sun drop never fell on that flower."

She sounded so despondent that it broke Eugene's heart.

His mind quickly prepared a speech about the hardships of life, but he discarded it just as quickly. Would it have been insensitive or condescending? Very likely.

He was saved by the bell when the door to the room swung open, and Lance walked in with a steaming bowl of hazelnut soup in one hand and a spoon in the other. He sauntered over, not reading the room, before playfully bowing to the princess and offering her the bowl. "For Her Majesty," he said, dipping the spoon into the soup. Rapunzel, to Eugene's relief, smiled and took the bowl from his hands. Hazelnut was really the best call, he figured.

She took a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

Her face went green, and she nearly retched.

"Y-Yum. This is… r-really good," she lied. "Who made this?"

"That would be me," Shorty mumbled, stepping out from behind Lance. He rubbed his large nose, sniffling vilely, and said, "I did the cooking, and I sent out Lance to get some bowels. Food is about presentation just as much as it is about flavor."

"I think you mean 'bowls' Shorty," Rapunzel said. She didn't add on to it that presentation was pretty much the only thing they got right.

"Is it really? I'll keep that in mind," the old man mumbled. He squatted on the ground and licked his finger, then started 'writing' on his knee. "Note to knee: it's bowls, not bowels."

_Sometimes I worry about him, _Eugene thought.

He felt someone tap his shoulder. It was Lance. Eugene stood and walked a little away from the bed, to give Rapunzel space to eat and Lance space to whisper into his ear. "Our food is on the table," he informed him.

"I'll be with you guys in a few minutes," Eugene said.

Lance cocked a surprised eyebrow, but then nodded and grinned slyly. "Oh, okay, I get it," he said slowly, implication dripping from his words. Eugene didn't get it until his friend winked at him, at which point he shook his head aggressively.

"We're just going to talk. Don't butt into my love life, Lance. You're a thief, not a pervert."

Lance lifted his hands in mock-defense. "Hey, I wasn't implying anything."

But then he winked again, annoying Eugene.

Lance and Shorty wished the princess well before leaving the room to get their food. Eugene watched them go, and when he turned back to look at Rapunzel, she said, "You should go with them, Eugene. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"But Blondie, I..."

His stomach growled from hunger. "You little traitor," he told it.

Rapunzel smiled. Her spoon waved around in her hand like a toy, splattering drops of soup that dirtied the white blanket. "Just go have fun with, uh, the boys, you know? You and the boys, just hanging out and talking about… sportsball."

The young man rolled his eyes. "I could never get into sportsball. I was more interested in the ancient Coronan art of karate fu." His words were laced with sarcasm, but judging from the look in Rapunzel's eyes, she didn't pick up on it. He rolled his eyes again, but with a smile this time. Rapunzel just being Rapunzel was enough to turn his most troubled times into blissful happiness.

_How could Cassandra betray a girl like her?_

His face darkened, thinking of his old rival-for-Rapunzel's-attention. He tried to put her out of mind by kissing the princess on her forehead and whispering, "Love you."

"Love you too," she told him.

And they did. Saying it aloud was just a reminder that they would do anything for each other. They would stick by each other's side. They would never do what Cassandra did to her, to them.

For a single moment, their eyes locked as green and brown clashed together and their mouths, wet and eager, came closer – just close enough to feel the breaths exchanged between them. Perhaps it was magnetism, but Eugene found himself on the bed with Rapunzel, his knees pressing into the mattress on either side of her legs. Their lips locked together with the passionate love of a young couple, and they closed their eyes. Rapunzel lost herself in the kiss she shared with her lover, and all the love she had for him flowed through her lips like a conduit. She felt unbound, carefree, and safe with him. She gave into her wants and didn't let anything other than her sense of touch guide her… until her ears perked as she heard the sound of a belt rustling…

Her eyes shot open, and she saw Eugene, drunk on lust, opening up his belt buckle.

"_Eugene!_"

His eyes opened wide, as if he were confused. Then he looked down at where his hands were, and his face flushed crimson. "Oh no… Rapunzel, I'm sorry, I-I just got carried away..."

"I-It's fine, Eugene," she said, a weak timbre to her voice.

An awkward beat passed, and the young man jumped to his feet. "I think I'll go eat now," he said awkwardly. As he walked away, Rapunzel watched him, and she could've sworn she heard him whisper under his breath "_Stupid, stupid, what's wrong with you Rider?_"

She wanted to call to him and tell him that there was nothing wrong with him, but with her… but the words got stuck in her throat.

Eugene and Rapunzel were in love. And not just any love, but the kind of intense love that one doesn't feel for anyone that isn't their bound soulmate. And they truly would do anything for each other… except for one thing…

Call her a coward or a prude, but Rapunzel was scared of sex.

They had been together for such a long time now, and been through so much… they were both young and healthy adults, so it seemed almost natural for them to be active in some way. But Rapunzel never managed to go through the motions. The moment the pants threatened to fly off, she panicked and worried about everything. Eugene was respectful enough to never push it on her, or even bring it up at all, but in certain moments of flightiness, he couldn't hold back his desire to finally become one with her and completely, totally, share his body, mind, and soul with her.

There was so much that warded her off the idea, though. Part of it was her fears for herself (_Will it hurt?_) but she also worried for him. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she couldn't please him at all? What if the magic in her body made his _thingie _start glowing? Okay, that last one wasn't going to come true (maybe... probably) but the others were real possibilities, and they frightened her. Sex wasn't something she wanted to rush into. It was an act, in her mind, that was of pure love, and should only be done when ready. He was ready, but she wasn't. And while he could forgive her for putting it off forever, she couldn't forgive herself for being so weak.

"Maybe it's for the best," she said to herself. "The priest did advise to wait until marriage."

Thinking of the priest made her think of home… and thinking of home made her think of her family… and thinking of her family made her think of her castle… and thinking of her castle made her think of her guards… and thinking of her guards made her think of…

"...Cassandra."

Great. Now her emotions were a total mess again.

* * *

The blue glow of her hair had completely died by now, so Cassandra let her sense of hearing guide her through the forest. What little she could make out with her eyes (thanks to the fireflies and soft silvery light from the full moon) was a thin dirt path marked with paw prints she didn't entirely recognize. It seemed like a wolf's print, but… the appendages seemed too much like human toes. It unsettled Cassandra to look at them, so she kept her eyes straight ahead.

One of her hands was wrapped around the hilt of her sword, ready to draw. Just in case.

"I didn't think you'd let me out of your house so easily," she suddenly said.

A few moments passed, and Owl wondered if she was going crazy. But then, from behind a tree by the path, a neutrally-faced Matthews stepped out. Orange and brown leaves were crunched under the heels of his shoes as he positioned himself, symmetrically, between the dirt path and the tree. "How did you know I was there?" he asked. Cassandra thought he looked somewhat impressed.

"I didn't. But now I do."

"Clever girl." He took a handkerchief and dabbed it on his face, wiping some of the sweat from his brow. "But if you were truly clever, you would know that I didn't let you free from my _humble abode_. You're still inside. This is, uh… perhaps you could call it a greenhouse."

"Are you sure it isn't a zoo?"

The corners of his mouth twisted into a cool smile. "I see you've noticed the paw prints. Good. Now I don't have to worry about telling you that there's a rabid beast running around in this forest."

"A beast? Like a bear?"

"Not precisely. Have you ever heard of the _loup-garou_? In this country, I believe they are called… _werewolves_."

"Werewolves… men that turn into wolves under the full moon..."

"Precisely. I don't think it would be fair for me to put the Sun and Moon in conflict if one is unable to control her powers as effectively as the other. So now I present this test: reach the end of the forest, knowing full well that the _loup-garou_ are hunting for the tantalizing soft flesh of young woman. You will have to use your powers to survive. You will have to gain mastery over them."

"I don't need magic to fight wolves. That's what I have a sword for." Cassandra drew her blade for emphasis.

The old man shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself, mademoiselle. Are you ready for the challenge ahead of you?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she muttered as she walked past him, clenching her sword's handle so hard her knuckles whitened under the gloves she wore.

* * *

Within a matter of minutes, the light in the sky began to dim. Cassandra looked up just in time to see the last ribbons of moonlight disappear behind the rolling clouds. "So much for actual seeing things," she mumbled sardonically. Now the only light was the soft luminescence of Owl's eyes and the gliding fireflies that dotted the landscape like specks of ember.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and Cassandra's eyes shot to her right side. "Who's there?" she demanded.

A hand shot out of the brush, carrying a small lantern. The dancing fire inside revealed the man who stepped out from behind the bush: he was a young man with an unshaven face and torn, ragged clothes. His beady eyes trembled nervously looking at her, and his already-sweaty face began to perspire again. "H-Hold on," he said as he held up his hands. "I m-mean you no harm."

He had an accent, but she couldn't place where it was from.

"Who are you?"

"My name is F-Flynn."

Cassandra scowled. "I knew a guy who liked to call himself that name. Not a big fan."

"I'm sorry. Would you like me to change my name?"

At first, she thought he was making fun of her. But he didn't seem like it; he seemed like he was genuinely offering. Cassandra pegged him as either a coward or someone that hadn't had much interaction with other people. And judging from the stained, shredded clothes he wore, it was likely the latter. Cassandra relaxed, but only slightly. She didn't really believe Matthews' stupid story of werewolves – that was just an old wives' tale, he was clearly just trying to scare her – but she knew from personal experience that people on the outskirts of society were either dangerous or, worse, annoying.

The young man cocked his head to the side, a stupid expression on his features. "What's your name?" he asked her.

"My first name is Nunya. My last name is Business," she replied with her typical snarky wit.

Hey, just because she was a vengeful magic woman that betrayed a friend so badly it would make Judas nod approvingly didn't mean her personality had to change much.

He seemed to get the memo that she didn't want to talk to him. His thumb shot up and pointed over his shoulder, and he grumbled something to the effect of "Look, I'll leave you alone, but my lantern fire is about to d-die out. D-Do you have something I can use to light my lantern?"

"No. Sorry."

"But if you don't have something to light your lantern, how did you get here?"

_I'd like to know how I got here as well, _Cassandra thought. The brunette kept that thought to herself and instead said, "I used my hair."

"Y-Your hair?"

"It can glow."

It was hard to make sure in the faint light, but the man's eyes seemed to widen, impressed. "Woah… you have magic! Can I see?"

She was preparing to tell him he couldn't, but then stopped to think about it. _Those clouds don't look like they're going to move out anytime soon, _she thought, _so the only way I'm going to make it out of this place is to use the Moonlight Opal like Matthews said. Alright, Cassandra… you might not know how to use these powers yet, but if _Rapunzel _can make her hair glow, you can do it better._

She focused on her scalp, trying to will her hair to glow.

It didn't. It remained as coffee-colored as the day she was born.

"Uhh..."

"Shut up, I'm trying!"

_Maybe it's not about the hair, _she thought. She looked down to her breast, at the magical gemstone pressed between her mounds. She closed her eyes again and focused on the Moonstone Opal, willing all her focus into that singular point.

She felt currents of energy crackle through her being – weak at first, but slowly rising in intensity. She felt some of the power rise to her head, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a bright blue light encompassing the area around her. She grinned, knowing that she had succeeded…

But her victory was short-lived.

She heard a loud choking noise, and she looked to Flynn. The young man's face was moonlit, and took on a pallid, sickly color. Before she could say anything to him, Flynn and his lantern dropped to the ground, his back arched and his fingers crooked.

"_G-Get away from me!_" he growled.

But she didn't. She watched in stunned silence, paralyzed like a statue, as the man's body began to change. Fur sprouted on his skin and overtook him like a tide overtakes a beach. His nails, teeth, and face all sharpened. A throaty growl emerged from his throat, which quickly turned into a vicious and loud howl. Bones cracked and limbs twisted with the painful sounds of a body broken, and the man let out a final scream until he was man no more.

When Flynn stood again, he was no longer Flynn.

What stood in his place was a hulking beast that seemed both man and wolf. Its teeth were bared in hatred and covered in rabid froth. Its eyes glowed the same color as her hair, and Cassandra, chest rising and falling rapidly, realized what she was staring at.

_A werewolf._

Then it pounced at her.

Cassandra immediately jumped back, her instincts trained by months of combat. Much like the monster, she bared her teeth in an angry snarl. She drew her sword and rushed the werewolf with a battle cry.

It swung its large arm, but Cassandra was too quick for it. She slashed the wrist of the creature, and it howled in pain. When the werewolf lifted its arm to slam down on her head, she raised her sword so that the sharp tip met the creature's palm. The sword poked through, breaking the skin and coming out of the other side.

There was an ear-shattering cry of pain.

Before it could even react, Cassandra pulled on her sword to the side, slicing the hand in half. The werewolf staggered back, which gave Cassandra the opening she needed. She jumped towards it, sword aimed right for the monster's chest…

The blade sunk into its heart.

Cassandra let go of the sword and hopped back with the agility of a rabbit. The monster looked down at the fatal wound she had inflicted, then looked up at her as if it were confused.

It fell onto its back after that. It wheezed one last breath… and then it breathed no more.

Cassandra didn't immediately get up to grab her weapon. Instead, she went to a tree and put her back to it, resting on the trunk. She exhaled raggedly. It wasn't that she was tired – she had taken on much larger hordes in longer battles – but rather the shock that she felt. Even in a world where witches and magic flowers and automata were real, werewolves… just seemed to cross the unwritten line. She hadn't expected Matthews' story of the _loup-garou_ or whatever the hell he called it in his weird language to actually be _true_.

"It's my hair," she realized. "The glow must be moonbeams, or something like it. Which means that..."

Her sentence was cut off when she heard another snarl in the woods.

She jumped and ran for her weapon, drawing the bloody sword for the chest of the beast she had just slain. Her eyes scanned the thicket around her, and her breath was caught by the many eyes – same color as her hair – she found staring back.

_I'm outnumbered. _


	3. The Future is a Foreign Country

**So Season 3 is finally out. I plan start watching it (at least what's already out) later today, but I'll assume that nothing I'm writing here actually happened haha. ****Oh well, I'm having fun with this AU, so that's all that matters.**

**Fanfictionmakermachine: I'd say both of them are feeling some heavy self-doubt (Cass doubting her goals and Raps doubting her relationships) but we'll see how they deal with all that. And seriously, I'm trying so hard not to just go full-on M-rated writing, it's killing me! lol**

**Gracie Wiser: Sorry to make you wait :weary:**

* * *

Before today, Cassandra hadn't done much killing. It was odd for a solider not to kill, but Cassandra hadn't usually been put in situations where it was necessary. She always found herself punching out her enemies or, at her most desperate, hitting them with the blunt side of her sword. But actually slashing at them? Drawing blood? She hadn't done much of that.

Before today, that is.

For the first time in forever, her blade was stained with drying blood. The sword itself was a dark stygian black color, which only made the crimson stains more striking. It was a new sight for Cassandra, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it as she ran through the woods, huffing heavy breaths as she pumped her legs to escape the growling horde behind her.

The air around no longer smelled like crisp vegetation: it reeked of oxidized blood and the pungent stench of werewolf fur. As she ducked behind a tree, pressing her back to it to lean on while she tried to catch her breath, she could hear the howls of the monsters in the distance, and the sounds of their claws scraping the ground as they chased after her.

"I can't… keep fighting them," she wheezed. "I have to… put a stop to this… now."

_But how?_

A hulking werewolf jumped out of the brush with a roar, forcing Cassandra to roll to the side to dodge, then get back on her feet and keep running. Her sides were killing her, and the muscles in her legs screamed to her to stop. The frustration and anxiety made her grit her teeth angrily, so she spun in place and pointed to the ground at the monster's feet.

A black rock shot out of the earth, its pointed tip spearing the beast in its chest and emerging from the other side. The werewolf spat up froth and blood as it uselessly struggled to break free.

One final twitch, and it moved no more.

Cassandra wasted no time. She knelt to plant her palms on the ground, muttered an incantation under her breath, and watched as another black rock, angled at an obtuse degree, sprouted like a tree underneath her feet and carried her up into the air, away from the ground where the werewolves could get to her.

She fell to the ground, gasping for air. The sword dropped from her hand and began to slide. "Damn," she hissed as she reached to grab it.

_At least I'm safe up here, _she thought. She peered down over the thin edge of the rock and saw several large shadowy werewolves many meters below her, staring up with their hauntingly blue eyes. Their claws scratched at the mystical rock to make jagged marks. Their mouths gnashed, spraying spittle everywhere. Cassandra's grip on her sword's hilt tightened, but she knew it was useless. She wasn't going to win if she fought them. What she needed to do is what Matthews suggested…

"It's something to do with my powers," she said.

With that in mind, the young woman closed her eyes and began to meditate.

* * *

Pascal crawled onto his mistress' arm as she lay in bed. His tiny legs carried him right to her shoulder, where he made a small clicking noise and nuzzled Rapunzel's cheek. The princess turned her head to the reptile and smiled lightly, reached to cradle him and hold him closer to her. "At least you're not giving me grief like the others," she said to him.

She kissed the top of Pascal's little head, and placed him in her hand. She held him outwards, so that they could meet each other's eyes. "Pascal, I..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. He cocked his head to the side, confused, and Rapunzel sighed. She giggled, then said, "Okay, let's try that again… Pascal, I've been thinking about… Cassandra a lot."

The lizard hissed at the sound of her name.

"I... guess that's the right response," Rapunzel said uncertainly. "It's just that I… I know that Eugene and the others are expecting a fight with her. I think that she's also going to do the same. But Pascal, I… I don't want to do it. I'm scared of that. If it really did come down to a fight between me and her… I don't know if I could fight her."

She then laughed, but it was a humorless laugh.

"And I'm not just saying that because she actually is a better fighter than me."

Pascal whined softly, sympathetically, and Rapunzel leaned in for the lizard. "What do you think, Pascal?"

He made a few soft clicks, and the young woman sighed again. "Yeah, I thought so. Still, I just don't… I don't think that..."

Another heavy exhale heaved from her breast. She thought back to every moment she had spent with Cassandra. Aside from Eugene, her lady-in-waiting had been the first friend she had ever made since leaving Mother Gothel's tower. She was her best friend, and every moment they had spent talking and laughing and fighting and arguing and protecting each other… it was too real, too vivid for Rapunzel to throw away.

Maybe Cassandra could. Rapunzel didn't know how easy or hard it had been for Cass to make up her mind about betraying her, and it stung her just thinking about it. But regardless of how she felt when she threw their friendship away, Rapunzel knew she couldn't do the same. If she ever saw Cassandra again, she felt like the first thing she would do is curl up into a ball and cry as the former guardswoman stalked over to her with a giant obsidian blade, ready to kill…

_Why did she have to be the traitor? Why couldn't it have been someone, anyone, else? Why couldn't it have been Adira? Assuming everything with Adira even happened. At this point, I don't even know what's real and what's just this weird house playing tricks on me._

"Oh, Adira was real. She's around… somewhere. I'm not quite sure."

Rapunzel screamed from the surprise. "Matthews!"

It was indeed Matthews, standing by the curtain with a bored expression on his face. His clothes were a scarlet color that blended in perfectly with the walls. If she hadn't been made aware of his existence, she would never have been able to guess he was there.

The Frenchman smirked at her. Taking one long stride towards her, he maintained an oily grin. Before she even knew it, Matthews was towering over her by her side. Rapunzel held her breath, afraid of what he was planning to do. Noticing the hints of fear in her eyes, he rolled his. "Come now, Sundrop, if I wanted to do you harm, you and the three stooges you brought with you would be lying dead at my feet. I simply want to show you something."

"Show me something?"

He nodded, still smirking as smugly as ever. He may not have wanted to do her physical harm, but even someone as naive and trusting as Rapunzel knew that a grin like that could only mean bad intent.

So she surprised herself when she found herself pushing the blanket to the side and standing up. She didn't feel like she was standing of her own will; it felt like magnets pulling her up. The image of a small Coronan child playing with dolls came to her mind, and she hitched a breath as she thought about some invisible force playing with her limbs like she was their personal toy.

Matthews held out his hand like a gentleman. "Come with me," he said. "What I plan to show is something you would not wish to miss."

He made his way to leave the room. Rapunzel, with reluctance in her every step, followed after him.

Stepping into the hallway, she felt a current of air flow past her, chilled and biting. Her teeth immediately began to chatter. Matthews raised an eyebrow at this. "How odd," he muttered. Removing his glove, he licked his finger and raised it to meet the rushing cold winds. "I don't believe I've left a window open. Though this air does seem to be of supernatural coldness. Perhaps the door to the Ice Room has been opened."

"I-I-Ice Room?" Rapunzel asked.

"Mhm. A world of pure cold and ice hides behind that door. Sometimes I open it and see large shadows in the distance. I wonder if they might be yetis."

"Yetis? Yetis are real?"

"Not in this world," he said with an even tone.

As he slipped his glove back on and continued forward, it started to really dawn on Rapunzel that, when it came to Matthews and this house, she had no idea what she was dealing with.

* * *

_Hoot._

"Not now, Owl." Cassandra tried to wave the bird that was distracting her meditation away, but Owl kept swooping back to her shoulder to peck at her face and hoot in her ear. Cassandra knew that her well-trained bird only behaved like that when he was trying to warn her about something, but given his recent behavior, she doubted it was something she wanted to hear.

Owl managed to maneuver past her flailing hand to perch himself right on top of Cassandra's head. His talons, thankfully, didn't dig into her scalp, instead lightly placing himself right on top of her glowing curls. He bent downwards and nipped a strand of blue hair, and Cassandra hissed. It was more out of annoyance than actual pain.

_Great. I'm on top of an uncomfortable black rock in the middle of the night, with werewolves ready to tear me to pieces, and now this bird's biting my hair. I swear, I knew I should've made him into a roast._

"Okay, that's… really cruel. Even for me," Cassandra found herself saying.

She sighed, then swatted at the bird again. He flew away, and a few thin strands of her hair fell into her palm. Cassandra was about to brush them off her glove when she noticed something strange happen…

The thin filaments of hair glowed brightly for a few moments. Then the beautiful blue light began to dim, and within seconds, her hair had returned to its natural brunette color.

"Huh. So my hair does the same thing Raps' hair does when it gets cut."

She blew the hairs out of her hand, then looked back up to Owl, who circled over her head. She scratched her head, wondering what her pet bird was trying to tell her.

An extra loud snarl rose from below. Cassandra looked back down at the monstrous pack, and watched as one thin, limber werewolf dug its claws into the rock. It began to climb, smashing its sharp nails into the stone to use as a harness. It didn't get far before it lost grip and fell back to the ground with the others, but the sight still made Cassandra's heart beat with terror. _They can climb? _ she thought. _I'm not as safe up here as I thought I would be. It won't be too long before they manage to get up here, and I don't think I'll be able to fight them all off. Come on, Cassandra, there has to be something you can do…_

And just like that, an idea hit her.

Cassandra gasped, then reached up to her luminescent hair and, with some strained difficulty, plucked a few strands. She watched as, again, the blue color died down into natural tones. Her eyes shot upwards to the sky, to the large black blanket that enveloped the Earth…

The large, black, _moonless _blanket that enveloped the Earth.

"That's it!" she declared, pounding her fist into her hand. "It's my hair! Werewolves only stay as wolves if there's a full moon, so if my hair is glowing like the moon, then that's what's keeping the werewolves in their wolf-form. Great. Now all I need to do is to turn it off or something like that."

An angry bark echoed from the ravenous werewolves, as if one of them was agreeing with her.

The young woman squeezed her eyes shut as she began willing her hair to dim. She opened her eyes, but found her head still shining like a beacon. "URGH!" she cried, scratching at her head. "Stop glowing, will you?!"

She paused and froze as she heard clawing on the rock. She peeked over the side again, and found another werewolf, covered in fresh scratch marks and obsidian black fur, with a slobbery tongue falling out of its mouth and eyes narrowed on Cassandra with both rage and hunger burning within them, climbing up the rock.

But this one wasn't falling. In fact, it had climbed halfway.

And it didn't look like it was going to slow down.

* * *

"I believe you remember this room from your 'last visit', non?"

Rapunzel looked around the familiar room, her smile growing with each passing second. "Ooh, this is the one where everyone got turned into cute kids. They were a handful, but they were so _cute!_"

Matthews seemed to grimace. "I was hoping you would be more afraid of what other magics would be lying in this room."

"Oh, right… I mean, oh no, the horror! The dreaded room that turned my friends into adorable, sweet little babies! Gasp, what dastardly works lie waiting for me here?" Rapunzel said over-dramatically. Even Pascal had to roll his eyes.

Truth be told, once the adorable memories of her friends' child-selves passed, Rapunzel did feel a looming sense of cautious curiosity. The room was filled with strange toys; some were scattered about messily while others were stacked into piles that spilled across the floor. Matthews hummed to himself as he and Rapunzel walked through the maze of playthings, his eyes locked straight forward to the object of his desire. His eyes did waver slightly at one point, falling on a stuffed teddy bear seated atop a small pink chair.

He sighed to himself. _Were I younger, this room of playthings would have been my paradise. Curse that my youth was taken from me._

He tried not to think about it. He had trained himself not to think about it. But even the best of us slip up sometimes.

The trio came to a rickety shelf on the wall. It was poorly made; splinters jutted from the boards and the nails that held them in place were crooked and rusted. It seemed odd in a place that was otherwise clean and fancy, so Rapunzel could only assume there was a reason behind it. Maybe it was a last minute addition?

Matthews' hand swept over the shelves in one swift, smooth motion. He turned back to face her, and within his gloved palm was a round, clear crystal ball. It was hardly the size of an orange. It was also really dusty, until Matthews rubbed the dust off with his mitts.

"It's come to my attention," he started slowly, "that you do not wish to confront your former friend Cassandra."

"What? H-How do you-"

"I thought we've been over this before. Everything that happens in this house, Sundrop, I know of. Every wasted drop of water that drips to the puddles on the floor, every buzzing fly that bashes itself into walls as it uselessly tries to escape, every thought that races through your head… although there aren't too many of those to listen to." He stifled a cold, mocking laugh. "But let's not make this about me. This is about you. You and Moondrop."

"I-I don't want to fight her," Rapunzel admitted. She took a shaky step back and repeated, "I don't want to fight her." On her shoulder, Pascal let out a soft whine of sympathy.

"I know. Which brings us back to here," said Matthews, holding up the crystal ball to the luminescence that seemed to naturally flow from the walls and ceiling. He marveled it like it was a valuable, precious stone… because it was one. But this particular stone was more valuable than an emerald twice its size.

He brought the crystal ball to her, and Rapunzel timidly opened her hands to receive it. "What does this do?" she asked.

"My dear Sundrop, it does what every hack and fake claims their crystal ball can do: it can show you the future. But unlike their balls, mine is potent."

Rapunzel couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw the sides of his mouth twitch upwards.

"So what am I supposed to use it for?"

He brought a long, lanky finger to tap on the ball. A few whispered words passed from him to the crystal, and it began to glow. Rapunzel winced as she felt it heat up, but rather than scalding her, the temperature stabilized at a comfortable level. Peering down at it, she saw flashes and ribbons of color flowing through it in the form of long waves. The ribbons began to melt into each other, and Rapunzel watched as they created a scene. A tower here… a stable there… a large wooden shield bearing a familiar coat of arms…

Rapunzel gasped: the ball was showing her Corona.

It looked nothing like she remembered it. The large castle and its many tall towers was decrepit. What once shone with golden color now lay dusted and dark. Large spires of the familiar black rock shot out from the stony walls, and hanging from them were putrid vines, blacker than the starless sky that hung above.

The scene transitioned with a rough blur to the street. Gone were the Coronan people that bustled and hurried through the streets, and gone were the bakeries and masonries and homes. Rapunzel's pupils narrowed, searching for any sign of life. In the corner of her vision, she found it: a little girl with dusty cheeks and shredded clothes, who seemed terrified of something, fleeing through the streets. The princess watched in horror as horde of strange creatures she did not recognize suddenly materialized and gave chase to the child…

"NO!" she cried when the monsters caught up with her.

Her grip on the crystal ball was tight as the final scene played for her. The ball revealed the throne room of her castle, but sitting on the throne – which was now littered with spikes – was not her father. Instead, Rapunzel's eyes widened as she saw Cassandra, hair glowing brighter than a full moon, grimly sitting on the throne.

"Cass… wh-what is this?"

"That, Sundrop, is the future," Matthews muttered as he snatched the crystal ball from her, ignoring her attempt to snatch it back. "Or one of many potential futures. In this future, Sundrop, you refused to defeat your opponent, which led to her taking your kingdom for herself."

"All of those awful things… that was Cassandra?"

"In fairness, she didn't deliberately destroy the nation," he stated matter-of-factly. "But when it comes to rulers, the world is strict with who leads. Cassandra is not of the same lineage as you. And bad things happen when false queens take the throne. But in addition to that, of course, she didn't hesitate to take _some _vengeance on Corona."

"I… I can't believe-"

"Then believe, Sundrop," Matthews uttered harshly. "Believe or all you know and love will be gone. The Moonstone Opal will change the world as you know it. It spread its darkness over the lands. It will trap and ensnare people with its jagged stones. It will bring decay and death to the living. How much longer will you refuse to confront this evil?"

"She's not evil! She's… Cass..."

The man frowned. A very deep frown. But he inhaled calmly, then placed his hand on the princess' shoulder. Rapunzel flinched, but she didn't brush him away. She tentatively, hesitantly, looked into his eyes.

The truth was there: she would have to fight Cassandra. It didn't matter if her former friend was evil or misguided or hurt or anything else… she would have to fight her. She was the Sundrop. Cassandra was the Moondrop. It was inevitable.

That didn't stop it from hurting.

Rapunzel didn't notice Matthews leaving. She didn't notice anything as she retreated into her thoughts. Memories of her friend flooded her as they always did, but they felt emptier now… more hollow.

Pascal chirped on her shoulder. He licked her cheek; his own way of giving a comforting kiss.

Rapunzel barely felt it.

"Blondie?" she heard someone say after some time had passed. She turned and saw Eugene standing at the door, with both Lance and Shortie peering over his shoulder and from behind his leg.

Moments passed before she said, "We're going to find Cassandra," in a voice that was as confident as it was afraid.

* * *

Cassandra spoke to the energy of the Moonstone Opal that resided within her breast. She pressed down on it, grit her teeth, and willed it to do this one thing for her. _Make my hair stop glowing. Turn it off. Just stop working!_

Owl, as he hovered over, watched as the brightness of her hair began to slowly dim. The werewolves also seemed to notice it; they became less aggressive, less snappy. Slowly but surely, through her huffed breaths, Cassandra managed to restore her hair to its normal color. She opened her eyes, peered down below, and watched as the pack of monsters began to revert back into their normal forms. Fur turned to hair, claws into nails, fangs into teeth, paws into hands, and maws into mouths. The painful sounds of bones cracking and men screaming echoed through the dark forest, and Cassandra could only watch as the werewolves became men again.

Once the mob of humans disbanded, returning back into the thicket from whence they came, Cassandra descended from her spontaneous spire. When her feet gracefully hit the ground, she found Matthews standing there, a sly smile on his face.

"Danger makes fast learners of us all," he said, a twinkle in the corner of his eye.

"You're the worst," she said in return.


End file.
